What Evergreen Shrubs Will Tolerate Partial Shade?

USDA Zones 2 and 3

• Mops is a rounded shrub, a cultivar of the dwarf mountain pine capable of handling a zone 2 winter. Mops is a species for partly shaded rock gardens and foundation plantings. Danica, Gold Drop and Ericoides are American arborvitae cultivars suitable as screens and in shrub borders. Gold Drop features yellow year round foliage. Zone 2 is a bit too frigid for shrubs such as Breviola Dense, a shrubby eastern white pine, but it grows in zone 3. Woodwardii survives in zone 3 as well, a 10-foot high and 15-foot wide American arborvitae shrub used to mark property lines and to create hedges.

USDA Zones 4, 5 and 6

• Zones 4, 5 and 6 support broadleaf evergreen shrubs capable of growth in partial shade such as mountain laurel and evergreen azalea. Elf is a mountain laurel shrub, 3 feet tall with leathery evergreen foliage. Blooming in May, its white flowers emerge from pink buds. Kline's Nest is a Frazier fir shrub with dark green needles and purple cones. Verdon is a hinoki cypress shrub for these zones, with golden foliage. Japanese yew, Japanese false cypress and Austrian pine are non-native species with shrub cultivars able to grow in partial shade.

USDA Zones 7 and 8

• Consider using camellia shrubs such as April Dawn and April Snow in partial shade in USDA zones 7 and 8. Both feature white flowers. Conlep is an evergreen azalea growing to 6 feet featuring purple and white flowers in April and May. Hage is an 18-inch tall hinoki cypress, one of many cultivars of this species grown in zones 7 and 8. Hage works well in rock gardens or as a foundation plant. Nana Gracilis is a kind growing to 8 feet, with wavy branches lined with dark green needles. Sea Urchin is an eastern white pine with a globe shape, developing to 3 feet and possessing blue-green needles. Use it in zones 7 and 8 in your shrub borders.

USDA Zones 9, 10 and 11

• Broadleaf evergreen shrubs dominate the list of evergreen shrubs for placement in some shade within the hottest zones in the United States -- zones 9, 10 and 11. Camellias such as Crimson Robe grow in zones 9 and 10. Species like Camellia furfuracea and Camellia transnokoensis grow between 6 and 10 feet high in zones 9 and 10, generating attractive flowers. Pink lantern, michelia and white gardenis are evergreens for partly shady sites in zones 10 and 11.